In our guest blog, our friends from the International Justice Mission offer their thoughts on the world’s biggest problems – and how they are trying to solve them. “According to the United Nations, 4 billion people worldwide live outside the protection of the law. That means their […]

Tearfund claims that it is passionate about ending poverty and according to their website they are ‘working through local churches to unlock people’s potential and helping them to discover that the answer to poverty is within themselves. When disasters strike, we respond quickly. We won’t […]

Homelessness is an increasing issue in the UK with an estimated 185,000 people a year now affected. But what should a Christian response be to this ever growing social issue? One Christian charity has decided to tackle the issue head on. This film looks at […]

Is it right that any family goes to bed hungry? For many people around the world this is a terrible reality. Yet is there anything that can be done to help and what is the Christian response to such poverty? Do Christians have a responsibility […]

The first of these films looks at the work and vision of Tearfund and answers such questions as: What does Tearfund hope to achieve through its work? How does Tearfund work in local communities? What is Tearfund’s view of poverty? The second film explores a […]

What happens to us after death has been the theme of many a book and film – it is a subject that has fascinated people from the beginning of time. Some people hope that heaven is a real place, where they’ll be reunited with loved […]

Do you know anyone who prays? Some people pray regularly but sometimes prayer isn’t something people give much throught to at all. People pray in many different ways for lots of reasons. Christians see prayer as an important part of their relationship with God, after all […]

Have you ever given money to charity? Maybe you’ve bought the Big Issue or given to someone busking in the street? Perhaps you chose to give in other ways? Jesus told a story about a rich man and a begger called Lazarus. In fact it’s […]

Wess Stafford a President and CEO of Compassion International and an advocate for children. Stafford is the author of two books, Too Small to Ignore and Just a Minute as well as the host of the daily national radio feature, Speak Up With Compassion®. Compassion […]

What is poverty? Is there a Christian response to poverty? Why is poverty such an important issue to tackle? What can we do to help combat the injustice of poverty? Wess Stafford is the former President and CEO of Christian charity Compassion International. He is the author […]

Glasgow City Mission is the world’s first City Mission. Since 1826, it has been showing Christian care to vulnerable adults and children by fighting against poverty and disadvantage in Glasgow. At the heart of Glasgow City Mission is a holistic approach to caring for the […]

Introduction The Bible uses the word ‘saints’ to mean all Christians (Romans 1:6-7). From the earliest times, Christians looked at good examples of other Christians, whose lives really showed the love of Christ. The lives of the Apostles were studied because it was believed they […]

Over the years, the Christian church has divided into different groups called denominations. Although they share the same basic beliefs, or creed, the way they do things can be very different. This family tree shows how each new denomination branched out from an older one. […]

A Protestant view of divorce Protestants believe that Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce in the New Testament shows the ideal way to which all Christians should aspire. They accept, however, that sometimes humans fall short of this ideal, because we live in a fallen world, […]

What is pilgrimage? Why would you go on a pilgrimage? What is a pilgrimage like? What do you learn on a pilgrimage? Watch this day to day diary of a group of men who decided to do the Two Saints Way Pilgrimage Walk from Chester […]

In these films Christians from many different backgrounds discuss from firsthand experience key ethical issues as well as exploring what impact their views have on their own lives. The issues covered are: 1. The environment 2. Crime 3. Alcohol & Drugs 4. Ethics 5. IVF 6. […]

Take a virtual tour of Westminster Cathedral by clicking on the circles on the map. The Cathedral situated in Francis Street, London is the Mother Church of the Catholic community in England and Wales and the Metropolitan Church and Cathedral of the Archbishop of Westminster. It […]

Saint Catherine was regarded as being a great thinker and philosopher – she was able to argue wisely about Christianity and convinced many people that following Jesus was the best way to live their lives. Learn more about her in this film.

Saint Peter, formally Simon, was renamed by Jesus – a sign that Peter was going to be one of the founders of the Christian Church. Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends and disciples – he followed Jesus with enthusiasm and zeal. However, he sometimes […]

Saint Andrew was one of Jesus’ disciples and the brother of Saint Peter, the first Bishop of Rome. Andrew was a networker – someone who was good at connecting people together. Learn more about him by watching the video here.

Poverty is much more complicated than just having no money. In our guest blog, Jane shares her reflections of the complexity of the issue, following her encounter with people much less well off. “I worked in Africa with TEARFund, and have also visited India. I […]

Many Christians have read the Bible’s teaching on their responsibility towards people in extreme poverty and have chosen to get involved on a very practical level. In our guest blog, Ian shares his story of a visit to Romania and how it impacted his attitude […]

The Bible has a lot to say about money and its use; about a healthy attitude to wealth; and about our duty towards people in poverty. Passages from the Old Testament A book in the Old Testament called Proverbs contains lots of wise sayings on […]

The UK is one of the world’s wealthiest nations. It may feel as though money can be tight for us at times, but the fact that so many people own cars, have bank accounts and can readily purchase food – albeit cheap food – from […]

How do Christians respond to the challenge of world poverty and injustice?

Issues

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The Bible has a lot to say about poverty and justice. One of the main passages is Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with […]

Traidcraft aims to fight poverty through trade, helping people in developing countries to transform their lives. The organisation was established in 1979 as a Christian response to poverty, and it is the UK’s leading fair trade organisation. Traidcraft run development programmes in some of the poorest […]

In 1505, when he was 22 years old, Martin Luther became a monk. He entered the cloister of the strict Augustinian order in the German town of Erfurt. Unbeknown to anyone, Martin’s actions were to start a split in the medieval church which would eventually […]

At the beginning of the 5th century AD (400s), an early Christian scholar, Jerome, was given the job of translating all the books of the Bible into one common language, Latin. Amongst these books was a collection that Jerome did not believe had the same […]

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is considered by many to be a ‘thin place,’ that is a place where the veil between the spiritual world and our own physical world is thin. In 633 Oswald fought and won a battle that established him as king […]

The Celtic people recognised the importance of certain places that they felt were ‘thin places.’ These were where they believed the spiritual world and our physical world met: where literally the veil between the two worlds was so thin that a person could sense the […]

Some Christians choose to become monks, friars or nuns. When they do this, they give up their possessions and romantic relationships. They take vows of ‘Poverty’, ‘Chastity’ and ‘Obedience’. This is sometimes known as taking ‘Holy Orders’. Learn more about what it’s like to have […]

The Two Saints Way is a 88 mile pilgrimage route which has been recreated between the cathedral cities of Chester and Lichfield. Pilgrimagehas a very ancient history and for centuries has been an important feature of Christianity. However pilgrimage is not solely something of history – even […]

All Saints Day is when Christians celebrate the lives of Saints – or Christians whose example is inspirational or important. They think about the good things that they said and did. All Saints Day falls on 1st November, and is a ‘Holy Day of Obligation’ […]

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, Sovereign of the Vatican City (a city within a city) and the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The title Pope comes from a Latin word that means father or dad. Catholics believe that the first Pope was St. Peter, […]

Catholics believe that there are some days during the year that are so special that every Catholic should go to Mass to celebrate. Every Sunday counts as one of those special days, and there are seven others. Sometimes these days are called ‘Holy Days’ – days […]

Catholics have seven sacraments or ceremonies that they believe God can bless people through. Baptism Penance / Confession Eucharist / Communion Confirmation Matrimony (marriage) Holy Orders (ordination) Sacrament of the Sick Most Catholics are baptised when they are babies. During the ceremony adults will make […]

At the centre of Roman Catholic worship is the Mass. Some Catholics go to Mass on Saturday or Sunday evening; all Catholics are supposed to go to at least one of these services. On entering a Catholic Church next to the door there is a […]

Who gave the Cathedral the Chapel of St. Thomas Becket? Who was Edward the Confessor? What sits in the shoulder of St Davids statue? Take a virtual tour of St. Davids Cathedral, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Click on one of the circles to see pictures and panoramas of the […]

When a baby is baptised, parents and godparents make promises for them. Once they are old enough, they can decide for themselves if they wish to live as a Christian, and make their own promises in the confirmation service. Confirmation happens in Anglican and Catholic […]

A baby cannot decide to follow Jesus for themselves, but infant baptism – or Christening – shows that the child is included as a member of the church family. When a child is baptised the family and church members look forward to the day when […]